I Became an S-Rank Hunter...?
The door creaked open, and a woman stepped inside.
"Ah, welcome~."
A foreigner… maybe?
Even if you chalked the hair up to dye, those eyes were a vivid, piercing blue. Sure, awakening sometimes changed a person's eye or hair color, but her proportions… those were not Korean proportions.
She looked well over 190 centimeters, her waist was impossibly slim, and more than anything, her chest was— whoa.
Ah, I shouldn't be thinking about that.
"Ahem…"
She cleared her throat softly and gestured toward the chair in front of her.
The woman walked over with a languid expression, one heavy step after another, and sat down without a word. Normally people showed at least a little nervousness. Was she confident? Or had she already given up?
Well… I'll find out soon enough.
"Just place your hand on the crystal orb here~."
"Ah… okay…"
The woman answered as she set her hand on the orb.
Fwaaat—!
The crystal flared with a brilliant light, and a moment later a window of information appeared in front of her.
"Your name is… Kang Suho, correct?"
"Ah, yes. That's right."
…So she is Korean.
More than that, a woman named Kang Suho… what an unusual family.
Height 191 cm, weight 72 kg…
"……"
Without thinking, she glanced down at herself.
Why is the world so unfair…
Ugh…
"Is… something wrong?"
"Ah, no, nothing."
Damn it. The sheer difference had left her so dejected she'd sighed out loud without meaning to. She hurriedly pulled the corners of her mouth back up and returned her gaze to the information window.
"Strength D, Agility E, Stamina D…"
Uh… hmm…
I don't know if I should even say this, but… these stats are absolute garbage…
So the world is fair after all, is that it?
At this level she was no different from an ordinary person. No—she might actually be weaker than one. With stats like these, there was no need to even look at the abili—
…Huh?
Thunderclad Execution (EX)
EX…?
What the hell is this?
Maybe she was so tired her eyes had gone haywire. A rank she had never seen in her life was sitting right there on the screen. She rubbed her eyes and looked again.
…It's not changing.
So she hadn't misread it. To get a closer look, she tapped the entry with her finger.
Lightning shoots from the hands.
"……"
What kind of unhelpful description is that?
In eight years of working here, she had never seen an explanation this rude. There should be at least two lines. Other people shot fire from their hands and called down lightning too. At least tell her what made this trait different.
Do I just have to ask her directly?
It said she'd cleared the first floor of the Tower, so she probably had at least a rough idea of her own ability.
"Um…"
"Y-yes!"
The woman, who had been nodding off, jerked upright and lifted her head.
"……"
"…Is there a problem?"
Have you considered that your attitude might be the problem…
She wanted to say it. She swallowed the words, forced a smile onto her face, and opened her mouth.
"The trait description here just says 'lightning shoots from the hands'… is there anything special about it that…"
"There isn't."
"…Excuse me?"
"It's exactly what it says."
"What do you mean…"
"Lightning comes out of my hands."
"……"
Under the desk, she clenched her fist tight.
Hold it in… Kang Sora… just hold it in…
Hoo…
"I think I'd better see it for myself. Would you mind following me for a moment?"
The door creaked open.
I followed the employee into something that looked like a gymnasium.
Can't she just wrap this up already…
I wanted to go home and sleep. Honestly, with Strength D, Agility E, and Stamina D, wasn't this already over? Last time I checked Hunter Gallery, even an E-rank Hunter supposedly pulled at least a C in Strength…
"Normally we'd combine the stats and trait rank, give you the result, and send you on your way…"
The employee began explaining with a thoroughly exhausted look on her face.
"But in all my time working here, I've never seen this EX? rank before… so I think we need to run a test."
"Ah…"
Ugh, this damn EX again…
Completely useless, every single time.
"One moment…"
She fiddled with something like a tablet, and a dummy appeared in the center of the gym.
"All right, just fire a skill at that."
"Okay…"
I turned toward the dummy.
Haah, damn it…
This is kind of… embarrassing to show off.
I mean, be honest. When the effects look like they could rip a bear in half in one shot and then the damage is absolute garbage, what is anyone supposed to think?
Should I just ask for an E-rank and be done with it…
I glanced sideways at the woman next to me. She was still smiling that bright, pleasant smile.
…I can't say it.
If I did, that smile would freeze solid in an instant. She'd write me off as some scammer who came in just to milk the support stipend.
…Which, to be fair, isn't entirely wrong.
Still, I refused to get treated like that by someone who'd been smiling at me until a second ago. A little embarrassment was better.
Just get it over with and bail.
I stretched my arm forward and aimed at the dummy.
Railgun!
KWAANG!
As expected, a tremendous boom and a cloud of smoke. And also as expected… a completely unharmed dummy emerged from it.
I can't even break a dummy…?
"Um… excuse me…"
I was standing there with my lips stuck out in pure misery when the employee spoke up again.
"Was that just now… a skill called Railgun?"
"Ah… yes…"
"Would you mind showing me the skills Thunderbolt and Ride the Lightning as well?"
"I can show you, but…"
Why, though…
She'd just watched Railgun turn out to be pure trash. Why bother with the other skills?
Wait—don't tell me she's trying to put me on blast…
No. No way.
I shook my head from side to side. Someone wearing a smile that kind wouldn't request a demonstration just to roast me. She was probably just being thorough.
…Right?
Whatever. She asked, so I should do it.
I turned my eyes back to the dummy.
Thunderbolt!
KWAANG!
"Ooooh…"
"…You don't have to react like that."
It just made me feel worse.
"Ah, I'm sorry if that made you uncomfortable!"
The employee bowed her head in apology.
"N-no. That wasn't what I meant. I just meant you don't have to hype it up for nothing."
"…?"
She slowly lifted her head and narrowed her eyes, looking like she had no idea what I was talking about.
"…Never mind. I'll use the last skill."
"Ah… yes…"
First, close my eyes so I don't get motion sick…
Ride the Lightning!
Fwaaat—!
I waited until I could no longer feel my body moving, then slowly opened my eyes.
"Oh, shit."
I'd nearly slammed into the wall. The distance left was less than a meter.
That almost went really badly.
At that speed, if I'd hit it… I might have died.
Well. I lived, so that's a pass.
This skill is wide-open spaces only from now on.
…Not that I know if I'll ever use it again.
I turned and looked back at the employee. She was far away, so it was hard to tell, but her eyes and mouth seemed to be wide open.
Well… after watching those trash attack skills, of course a skill like this would be a shock.
Even though this one's trash too if you look closely.
I walked back over to her.
"Can I go now?"
"……"
"…Hello?"
"Ah—ah. Yes! I'll announce your rank! One moment…"
"Ah… sure…. Take your time…"
I don't even need to hear it, honestly…
One fast-movement skill isn't going to get me anything higher than E-rank, obviou—
"Congratulations on becoming Korea's seventh S-rank Hunter! Hunter!"
"…What?"
…What did I just witness?
She crossed from one end of the gymnasium to the other in an instant. Roughly a kilometer, that fast? No Hunter alive could move at that speed.
And more than that…
When she'd used those attack skills earlier, the tablet had flashed ERROR.
That meant unmeasurable.
There was a chance it was because the skills were too weak—but the effects had been far too spectacular for that. And above all… after seeing that movement skill, the "too weak" theory had evaporated from her mind as if it had never existed.
Clearly the measurement had failed because the skills were too strong.
Which meant… that person was an S-rank Hunter!
She should have known the moment she saw the EX rank…
Is it time for me to retire…
"…Hello?"
"Ah—ah. Yes! I'll announce your rank! One moment…"
"Ah… sure…. Take your time…"
Oh no. I completely zoned out and ended up being rude.
And yet instead of scolding her, this person was accommodating her in that soft, gentle voice… The way she'd said earlier not to force a compliment, too…
This person—no, this woman—wasn't just strong. She was humble and kind on top of it.
There had been a reason the gods had given her that body and that face.
And she hadn't even realized it… she'd just been jealous… treating her like a scammer…
Reflect on yourself! Me!
She slapped both her cheeks. She yanked the corners of her mouth as high as they would go. She curved her eyes into warm crescents.
And then, in the biggest, brightest voice she could manage—
"Congratulations on becoming Korea's seventh S-rank Hunter! Hunter!"
"…What?"